In this handout photo provided by the Russian Marine Rescue Service, rescuers work to prevent the spread from an oil spill outside Norilsk, 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency in a region of Siberia after an estimated 20,000 tons of diesel fuel spilled from a power plant storage facility and fouled waterways.(Russian Marine Rescue Service via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday slammed the billionaire of a nickel company after a massive fuel oil spill that caused huge damage to an arctic region. On Wednesday, Putin declared a state of emergency in the region to help minimize the consequences of the spill. According to reports, an estimated 20,000 tons of diesel oil spilled into the Ambarnaya River last Friday from a broken tank a power plant in Norilsk, 2,900 kilometres northeast of Moscow.
Arctic Oil Spill: What we know so far
- The plant is owned by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, which is the world's leading nickel and palladium producer.
- It is believed that ground subsidence, or the sinking or settling of the ground, beneath storage tanks holding fuel at the plant is behind this spill.
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Putin expressed anger after discovering officials only learnt about the incident two days later. In a televised video conference on Wednesday, Putin lambasted the head of the company over its response.
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The oil spill has contaminated a 350 sq km area
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Putin has ordered an investigation into the accident and a manager at the power plant has since been detained.
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The accident happened when the pillars supporting a fuel tank at a power plant began to sink. The area is built on permafrost which has been melting as the climate warms.
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Booms were laid across the river to prevent the fuel oil from getting into a lake downstream that feeds another river leading to the environmentally delicate Arctic Ocean.
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This incident comes during a time when unusually high temperatures are causing the Arctic permafrost to melt.
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The power plant is operated by a division of Norilsk Nickel, whose giant plants in the area have made Norilsk one of the most heavily polluted places on the planet.
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Investigators have started looking into the cause of the accident and local officials' failure to quickly report it to federal authorities.
